WHAT IS AGRIVOLTAICS?
Simply put, agrivoltaics is the combination of farming and solar, allowing the best of both worlds for clean energy generation and farmland health. There are several forms of agrivoltaics, including pollinator habitat seeding, grazing, intercropping, and conservation.
POLLINATORS
Seeding a project site with pollinator-friendly vegetation can benefit the whole local ecosystem by providing pollinators with sources for nutrition, shelter, and places to raise their young. In this mix of solar and farming, different seed mixes are planted around the base of the solar panels to help local pollinator populations thrive.
GRAZING
Solar grazing is a popular practice of using grazing animals to manage vegetation around solar panels. This practice not only eliminates the need for mowing at solar sites, but also provides a source of nutrition for the grazers, diversifies farmer income, and keeps farmland in production.
INTERCROPPING
Intercropping is the practice of planting various crops, including corn, rice, soybeans, wheat, hay, and more, below and between the panel rows of a solar farm to concurrently grow on the same land. This allows for greater utilization of the land and an increased crop productivity, all while solar panels are in full operation.
CONSERVATION
Using cover crops is a great way to incorporate conservation-agrivoltaics – often hay/alfalfa, these crops reinforce natural resources and protect the environment in tandem with utility-scale solar.
SUPPORTING FAMILY FARMS
The sun is a stable cash crop for many farmers who have been proudly farming family land for many generations across the Midwest. Many farmers who host a solar project have made the choice to not give up farming, but instead have found ways to ensure farming and energy generation can coexist.
Dual-use practices are constantly evolving, seeking multiple solutions to the growing need for clean energy and farmland conservation around the world.
CASE STUDY: MADISON FIELDS
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
